To gel or not to gel: differential expression of carrageenan-related genes between the gametophyte and tetasporophyte life cycle stages of the red alga Chondrus crispus.

ABSTRACT: Chondrus crispus is a marine red alga with sulfated galactans, called carrageenans, in its extracellular matrix. Chondrus has a complex haplodiplontic life cycle, alternating between male and female gametophytes (n) and tetrasporophytes (2n). The Chondrus life cycle stages are isomorphic; however, a major phenotypic difference is that carrageenan composition varies significantly between the tetrasporophytes (mainly lambda-carrageenan) and the gametophytes (mainly kappa/iota-carrageenans). The disparity in carrageenan structures, which confer different chemical properties, strongly suggests differential regulation of carrageenan-active genes between the phases of the Chondrus life cycles. We used a combination of taxonomy, biochemistry and molecular biology to characterize the tetrasporophy

SUBMITTER: Lipinska AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7359372 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature